Attleborough Surgeries

Feedback

• It's difficult to get an appointment

  3

  Submitted by Healthwatch Norfolk staff on behalf of person 14th August 2024

  I find the receptionists might need a bit more training. It's easier to go down in person. It's difficult to get an appointment; you sometimes have to wait four or five weeks. The pharmacies are excellent though. My regular doctor is very caring, it's just getting in to them that is the problem.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately demand for routine appointments can be very high, which can lead to waits that are longer than patients would ideally wish for. Our reception team will always work to provide the soonest available appointment and we are surprised to read of a 5 week wait, as most routine appointments are booked within a 2-3 week period. However, our reception team are governed by available appointments when offering a date to a patient rather than another method of allocation. We hope this reply is helpful in understanding how appointments are booked with our clinicians and we thank you for your feedback.

• Five stars for care, zero for access

  3

  Submitted by Collected by Healthwatch Norfolk engagement team 5th April 2024

  The doctors are lovely, very positive and they try their best but the surgery hasn't kept up with a growing town, the number of doctors hasn't grown. Trying to book online when I was very ill with Covid was a nightmare, I needed support but I couldn't get an appointment. After three or four days I had no choice but to go in to book even though I was extremely ill. Once I was in the system they were absolutely fabulous. I got a blood test very quickly and linked in with the mental health support. They have a really positive multi-agency approach. Something needs to change with the system of getting fit notes though. It creates anxiety as it takes too long and then you're overdue for handing them in to your employer. You don't have a named GP to go back to for these and this also slows it all down. I don't know how it could be better but it needs looking at. I've been with the surgery for a long time and I'd say it's five stars for the care but zero stars for access.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your feedback and your very positive comments regarding the care and multi-agency approach that we have to delivering high quality care to our patients. Demand for our services is extremely high and we are working very hard to ensure that we continue to provide a safe and responsive service to our patients and this can unfortunately result in some aspects of non-urgent care management needing to wait. We do however understand that this can be frustrating and want to thank you for your feedback on this matter.

• Very poor service

  1

  Submitted by Anonymous 2nd April 2024

  I have tried to order a repeat prescription last week. This was denied stating I needed a review, a week later no review appointment has been booked and my medication runs out in 5 days! I have tried to call but there is a queue of 27 so thoughts I would try and message the prescription team to be told that they will not receive anymore messages today so try tomorrow! Tried to call them and have to leave my name and medication name then the line goes dead! I have tried to message reception but again they have reached capacity today and are not taking messages/emails! Considering it’s only just gone 9am this is very poor service.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to learn of the problems you experienced when trying to contact the Practice regarding your medication. Your experience sounds unusual as our forms for prescribing and dispensing matters stay open all day and our patients can register for SystmOne on-line or download the NHS app as another means to receive communication from the Practice and order repeat medicatoin. Our dispensary answer phone is also checked and actioned throughout the day by our dispensary team. It is important for safe prescribing that a review is undertaken for patients on repeat medications. This may simply require a check by our clinical pharmacist who will then approve further repeats and will not always require a full assessment to be arranged with the patient. I am pleased to confirm that since your feedback was received, the Practice has introduced a call back facility on our telephone system, which means that patients can chose to receive a call back from us, rather than waiting in the queue. Thank you for your feedback which is always appreciated.

• My old surgery was a lot better

  2

  Submitted by Feedback collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 28th March 2024

  Since moving to Attleborough I haven't been able to access medications for my son. I feel that the doctors don't look back on his notes and told me just to give him over the counter medication, when actually he has needed a tube down his throat in the past. My baby was also poorly and 111 booked an appointment quickly at the GP surgery. I waited there for three hours before they told me that I had missed the appointment because it was a telephone one and not an in-person appointment. I have found that they are great with my own health needs, but overall, my old surgery was a lot better.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your feedback regarding your positive experience when contacting the Practice for your own health needs. However, we are sorry to read of the frustrations you have had when managing the care for your children. The 111 service has access to book a patient request directly for review by our same day clinic team, who manage all urgent on the day requests. The clinician will review these requests along with all other urgent requests on the day and will either telephone you, or make contact to confirm the time of a face to face appointment and for you to visit the Practice. We continue to feedback to the 111 service via our commissioners that they should not be informing patients that a direct face to face appointment has been booked as this leads to frustration and disappointment. We are sorry that this continues to happen and we will feed this back again. Regarding the medication for your son, if you would like to contact the Surgery directly, marked for the attention of the Practice Manager, detailing your concerns we would be happy to investigate this matter further.

• I have not had any poor experiences

  3

  Submitted by Feedback collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 28th March 2024

  I would give the surgery 3 1/2 stars as I have personally not had any poor experiences with the surgery and I don't mind sending an email for a call back, but I feel like this could be problematic for other people. Everyone is working hard but people get frustrated with access to the GP.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your feedback and telling us about your positive experience with the Practice. All patients can telephone the Practice during our opening hours if they do not have access to the internet, or when our forms are closed. We have had very positive feedback following the recent changes we have made to our telephone system, which now includes a telephone call back option for patients that do not wish to hold on waiting in a call queue. Additionally the system links with our clinical system which has sped up our average call length time, meaning that patients are not kept waiting as long when telephoning us.

• I feel you're not able to see a doctor

  2

  Submitted by Feedback collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 28th March 2024

  I feel that you're not able to see a doctor. You have to go online before 8:30 in the morning to book an appointment and you have to disclose online why you need to see them. They give you a day they'll contact you and it's not always a doctor. I've lived here for 3 years and not seen a doctor. I've seen a nurse and someone else but I'm not sure of their job title. I've seen a clinician but I specifically said on the online form that I want to see a doctor and I have given feedback to the surgery but they just say they are short staffed. The experience is ok and the staff are nice but I just don't feel confident seeing someone that's not a doctor.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your feedback regarding accessing our services. The Practice has operated a clinical triage system for a number of years and our experienced team will review the health needs detailed by a patients on our on-line request forms or made through our reception team and this will be managed by the most appropriately qualified clinician. We have an excellent team of practitioners including Advanced Care Practitioners that have either a paramedic or nursing background, and they are able to assess, diagnose, treat and prescribe. They always have the support of a GP and can access further advice and guidance if they feel this is needed. Our GPs make up 9 of our 72 staff employed at the Surgery, which also includes our extended team of clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists, mental health practitioners and social prescribers and we work hard to provide safe and appropriate care, but this does mean that we make full use of the breadth of our clinical team and an appointment with a GP is not always necessary or possible. We hope this explanation regarding our services and clinical staff groups has been helpful.

• Who else has a website that isn't open 24/7!?

  2

  Submitted by Anonymous 24th February 2024

  You can't order repeat prescriptions online until the physical surgery is open!? Why!? I think someone is stuggling to understand the benefits of a website.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your feedback regarding our website. I would like to confirm that our website is available 24/7, but there are some aspect that are not available all the time, including some of our on-line access forms, but there remains access to a wide range of information and news which can be helpful to patients in managing their care. Our on-line repeat prescription request form does remain open for the duration of our opening hours and can be accessed through the website or the link below: https://www.attleboroughsurgeries.com/navigator/request-a-repeat-prescription/ Alternative, the NHS App is a fantastic resource for patients and can be downloaded on all smartphones, tablets and computers and you can access a whole range of services including ordering repeat prescriptions 24/7, accessing your health record, checking for any appointments and receiving notifications from your GP practice. I hope this information is helpful.

• Not given an appointment when requested

  1

  Submitted by Anonymous 20th February 2024

  I requested an appointment to talk to a doctor about my daughter being referred for a diagnosis for autism. Her school said we needed to go to our gp for a to be referred. We also had other questions to ask. However, I waited two weeks, then was sent a text message to say the school could refer her. I was not given the opportunity to speak to a doctor and ask questions. Now the school are trying to work out what to do. I feel this was a very unsatisfactory response from my Gp.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately we are unable to comment on specific complaints regarding care on this feedback platform, but we would be happy to look into your concerns if you wanted to get in touch with the Practice directly. Please visit us at www.attleboroughsurgeries.com to complete a feedback form or you can provide a letter to the Practice providing your details in order that we can investigate your concerns further and respond to you directly.

• The service was excellent through Covid

  4

  Submitted by Feedback collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 9th February 2024

  All through Covid the service was excellent. I had an invitation for a check up but I'm still waiting as I can't drive to the surgery yet due to a procedure I had. I have been at this doctors surgery for years but nowadays you are lucky if you see anyone. If I were to rate the surgery I would give them 4 1/2 stars.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank you for your 4.5 stars. Your feedback is very much appreciated. The Practice continues to provide significant numbers of face to face appointments across all of our clinical practitioners, but by offering phone appointments and email/text responses, where appropriate, we are able to provide care to a much greater number of patients each day. This enables us to respond to increases in demand, while still providing good quality care.

• No complaints

  5

  Submitted by Feedback collected by Healthwatch Norfolk staff 9th February 2024

  18 months ago my review would have been a different story, but the communication between the surgery and pharmacy has improved and it's now really smooth. I have no complaints at all. They are doing their best in difficult circumstances. Although I don't know how easy it would be to see a doctor if I needed to see one. I only have good stories about the surgery- they were efficient when the flu and Covid boosters were done.

• Reply from Attleborough Surgeries

  Thank for leaving your feedback regarding the communication between our Practice and local Pharmacy and the positive impact this has had on your care pathway and medication. As a large Practice we have a significant number of patients who are eligible for flu vaccination and we cover over 250 care home patients and 150 housebound patients, so our covid vaccination programme is also extensive. We work hard to provide an efficient service and ensure patients have good access to these important public health vaccination campaigns and we thank you for your feedback on these programmes of care.